Explained: Who is Mike Bickle and what are the allegations against him?

Mike Bickle first came to prominence as one of the so-called Kansas City Prophets in the 1980s. This amorphous group became well-known among Christian leaders in the charismatic renewal movement, with a big emphasis on prophecy, a recovery of apostolic leadership and the supernatural. In 1999, Bickle set up the Internaional House of Prayer Kansas City (IHOPKC), based around the vision of a 24/7 prayer room. IHOPKC has since grown to include a college of 1,000 students, a music label, conferences and multiple other worshipping sites across Missouri.

Allegations of sexual misconduct against Bickle first arose in 2023. These were initially dismissed by IHOPKC, but after several more women came forward, IHOPKC eventually cut ties with Bickle and commissioned their own investigation. 

That investigation concluded it was “more likely than not” that the allegations were true, but many victims and survivors refused to participate in it because they feared it was not truly independent of IHOPKC and its leaders, who had initially protected Bickle. 

Now a third-party inquiry totally independent of IHOPKC has concluded Bickle’s misconduct went even further, and that his ministry tried to cover it up.

The most recent investigation has just concluded. What did it find?

After speaking to more than 210 people, including 32 who described themselves as victims and survivors, and reviewing more than 6,000 documents, Firefly concluded that Mike Bickle sexually abused, assaulted or spiritually exploited at least 17 people, dating back to the mid-1970s. “These acts of abuse have had profound and lasting impacts on the lives of the victims, causing significant emotional, psychological, and spiritual harm,” the report stated.

By speaking to a variety of people, the investigators said they could establish patterns of grooming and abuse, corroborated by other evidence and overlapping testimony. They also found evidence of repeated cover-ups and other failures by IHOPKC leaders when earlier accusations against Bickle reached them. “These allegations highlight a troubling pattern within this particular institution, where abuse was allowed to persist unchecked, often with perpetrators being protected rather than held accountable. We have found there was a culture of systematic abuse and coverups that thrived at IHOPKC.”

Central to the findings was a programme set up by Bickle in 1997, called Friends of the Bridegroom. This saw a group of mostly 18 and 19-year-old girls make vows of celibacy while working with Bickle, who became inappropriately close and intimate with many of them. As well as touching them, giving gifts and money, and regularly spending time alone in their homes, Bickle also reportedly used prophetic words and messages to groom his victims. Other victims told Firefly he would ply them with alcohol when underage, touch their breasts and kiss them.

Several people reported seeing Bickle kiss and caress women in public in the IHOPKC 24/7 prayer room, but anyone who passed on their concerns to the ministry’s leaders was dismissed. Others said they stumbled upon women with their hands inside Bickle’s trousers or kneeling at his feet in the office. One teenage girl said Bickle exposed his erect penis to her while in a hotel room on a church trip.

How did Bickle cover up what he was doing?

A common theme was him telling young women God had revealed his wife Diane would shortly die and that he would marry them instead.

He also used his widely-acknowledged prophetic authority to insist on secrecy, showering his victims with inappropriate messages, and warning that anyone trying to reveal this, oppose him or rein him in was working with the devil.

“These women were systematically and intentionally groomed into harmful, emotional, and spiritual abuse,” the Firefly report said. “His calculated actions created an environment of control and exploitation, where the victims were coerced into compliance and silence.”

The report noted that in charismatic church circles leaders such as Bickle who are believed to have a prophetic gift or anointing are “given an almost unfathomable amount of spiritual authority — far beyond most evangelical pastors”. Seen as speaking with the voice of God, it becomes almost impossible to challenge them, which is a “straightforward recipe for abuse and cover-up”.

IHOPKC also had a culture of keeping all disputes internal and a published policy that anyone who had an accusation against a leader had to make it in a so-called Matthew 18 meeting to their face. There, other leaders would assess who was telling the truth and coerce victims into forgiving their abusers, leaving them further traumatised. Often, victims were made to imply their sexual encounters were consensual and therefore needed repenting of together. Bickle also reportedly made one victim pray through Psalm 51 after he had sexually assaulted her, casting the abuse as a mutual falling away from integrity.

What has Bickle said?

Bickle did not speak to the Firefly investigators despite their repeated requests and has made no public comment on their report. He also has not responded to requests for comment from journalists. His only statement is from 2023, when he admitted to some “moral failures” but not the most serious allegations (see below). 

In the report, several emails from Bickle sent to victims and witnesses at IHOPKC from late 2023 are included. These show that Bickle became aware some victims were planning to come forward and tried to stop them in advance, often by presenting their actions as contrary to God’s will or in service of the “Black Horse”. He also used extremely manipulative language in one email to a victim’s husband, accusing her of betraying him and trying to persuade her not to tell anyone what happened.

What has IHOPKC said?

The current IHOPKC leadership has also not responded to requests for comment from journalists covering the Firefly report. While Bickle has had no formal connection to his former ministry since they disavowed him in December 2023, the latest investigation said it had also identified 16 other former and present staff members at IHOPKC who have also been accused of sexual misconduct, including at least one accused of rape. In some of these cases unrelated to Bickle, attempts to report the abuse to IHOPKC’s leadership were rebuffed or ignored.

The Firefly investigators concluded: “The investigation has revealed that certain members of the [leadership team] at IHOPKC were more focused on suppressing and minimizing reports of sexual abuse, misconduct, and rape rather than supporting the victims or staff who reported these incidents.”

The original allegations were unearthed over a year ago. How did IHOPKC respond at the time?

On 28 October 2023, three former senior IHOPKC executives published an open letter revealing they had passed on allegations against Bickle to the church’s current leaders. They said they had spoken with several victims of Bickle who had shared corroborating testimony of “clergy sexual abuse” and “inappropriate words and actions”. “The allegations seemed out of character to the man we thought we knew, but they were so serious we could not ignore them,” the letter states.

While the letter does not go into detail, it does accuse Bickle of not “honouring” his marriage covenant and using spiritual authority to manipulate others. They said the female victims wanted to remain anonymous, but that they had gone public with the allegations on the victims’ behalf after a private approach to Bickle had been rebuffed.

At first, the IHOPKC leadership appeared to cast doubt on the accusations, suggesting some of the victims had already repudiated their allegations or declined to engage in any investigation. They also attacked the former leaders for casting aside “due process” and accused them of trying to financially shake down the ministry.

At the same time, a trickle of other women made similar accusations against Bickle, including some who reported the leader had used supposed prophetic pronouncements to manipulate and groom them into one-sided sexual encounters and relationships. A new executive committee at IHOPKC took over managing the crisis, and hired an independent law firm to investigate afresh.

What was Mike Bickle’s response?

On 12 December 2023 Bickle published his own statement on social media, admitting to “moral failures” more than 20 years ago.

“I want to express how deeply grieved I am that my past sins have led to so much pain, confusion, and division in the body of Christ in this hour. I sadly admit that 20+ years ago, I sinned by engaging in inappropriate behaviour – my moral failures were real. (I am not admitting to the more intense sexual activities that some are suggesting).”

Bickle said many of things being said about him were exaggerated, out of context or untrue. He did, though, pledge to stand back from public ministry for an undetermined period of time and would only resume preaching if other leaders and God confirmed this was right.

Although IHOPKC welcomed Bickle standing aside, some in the church abuse survivor community criticised the ministry and said the new law firm chosen to investigate had a history of defending Christian leaders from abuse claims.

That law firm went ahead with their investigation. What prompted IHOPKC to commmission that investigation? 

Just before Christmas 2023, IHOPKC announced it had received new, unspecified information about Bickle which verified the allegations. As a result, the ministry said it would “immediately, formally and permanently separate from him”.

Two more alleged victims came forward in 2024 to accuse Bickle of inappropriate sexual contact with them, including one who claimed Bickle had abused her when she was just 14 and he was the family babysitter. Another alleged victim said Bickle’s abuse started when she was 15. She was the ex-wife of Bob Hartley, another of the Kansas City Prophets, who was himself barred from ministering at IHOPKC following allegations of his own sexual misconduct.

Shortly after the two alleged victims came forward, IHOPKC said in a statement it believed them and were horrified at what Bickle had done: “Words cannot express the anger, shock, heartbreak, and sadness we have experienced as we have learned of allegations and testimonies of sexual abuse and manipulation concerning Mike Bickle, founder of IHOPKC.

“We believe that Mike Bickle sexually abused and manipulated Jane Doe and Tammy Woods, who was a minor at the time. His predatory and abusive actions are sick and violate the Word of God, the marriage covenant, and holiness; we condemn them in their entirety”.

Their independent report was published shortly afterwards, and concluded it was “more likely than not that Mike Bickle engaged in inappropriate behaviour including sexual contact and clergy misconduct in an abuse of power for a person in a position of trust and leadership”.

What will happen next?

The Firefly report ends with a series of recommendations for IHOPKC, including creating a new policy on sexual abuse with clear guidance on both prevention, and reporting and responding to allegations. It also recommends all staff and volunteers at IHOPKC undergo background checks if they have any contact with children or vulnerable adults, and everyone completes training on identifying signs of abuse.

IHOPKC is also urged to have their policies reviewed by an external organisation, and offer counselling support for victims and survivors within their congregations. However, because the report was commissioned and funded by external groups, Firefly has no power to enforce these changes on IHOPKC, whose current leadership has not engaged at all with this latest investigation.

How might this story effect the Church in the UK?

Although Bickle is not an especially famous name within the UK, he is a significant figure within the movement sometimes known as the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), which has influenced a number of Pentecostal and charismatic networks in Britain.

The NAR spun out of the wider charismatic renewal movement of the 1970s and 80s, with a major emphasis on restoring Church practice back to the New Testament era, building new church networks outside of existing denominations, spiritual gifts and, through spiritual warfare, seeing Christians “take ground” over different spheres in society, from the arts and business, to politics and the media.

Many UK Christian leaders were inspired by Bickle and the Kansas City Prophets. Hundreds of charismatic evangelicals have travelled to Kansas City to learn at IHOPKC’s college and brought back the teaching and practices Bickle pioneered into the UK Church. The ongoing internal strife at such an influential church may cause ripples at the hundreds of congregations in Britain which have modelled their own charismatic ministry on that pioneered by Bickle and IHOPKC.